“What is the meaning of this?” she demanded, rising in fury.
I didn’t answer, and this time when she approached, it was with hesitation. She pressed her frigid fingertips against my throat and slid them down until they rested against my heart. Surprise registered on her face, and then her expression quickly turned to one of horror. “Three?” she whispered. “Three hearts? How is it possible? I didn’t sense this in the dream before.” She twisted away from me and tripped, sprawling on the ground, her body trembling.
“The Triangle of Impossibility,” she cried. “The prophecy is true. You’ve come to kill me.”
“Uh, duh,” I said. “I’ve been saying that the whole time.”
“No. No. No.” The queen scrambled to her feet. Wringing her hands, she strode back and forth. “What will I do?” Her hair fluttered, the strands rising in defense, while some of the snakelike barbs wrapped around her shoulders as if seeking to offer comfort.
“Master!” she cried, looking up to the sky. “Master, what do I do?”
I didn’t hear a reply and wondered if she’d finally gone crazy. I tried a new name. “The Demoness of Punishment,” I said, wrapping my lips around it, though I knew it still wasn’t exactly correct. Why was my new ability eluding me just when I needed it most? “Give up your power.”
She screamed and clawed at her hair, dislodging the little creatures that held on. Concentrating, I tried again, my mind spinning as I strained. “The Great and Final Death, relinquish your life to me.” It wasn’t quite right. Still, the effect the names had on her was tremendous. I was getting close. Her hair fell out in clumps, thick strands writhing as if each one was dying little deaths. Her true name was on the tip of my tongue. I could taste it. If I pushed just a bit more…“Gall of Asps!” I cried. It was still not her true name, but I was close. Very close.
“Browbeater!” she cried. “I need you!”
Jerked from his immobile state, he knelt at the feet of his queen. The Devourer reached out a hand shaking with tremors and stroked his brawny arm. “My first and best slave. You’d do anything for me, wouldn’t you?” she asked.
“Yes, my most beautiful and beloved Devourer.”
“Very good.” She smiled. “I have need of your heart.”
“Of course.”
I shouted, “No! Browbeater, stop!” But my words had no effect. She had created him, and therefore she held ultimate control. Suddenly I realized that it wasn’t just another heart she wanted. In unmaking one of her own creations, she would gain tremendous power. It was what Seth had tried to do with Asten, Ahmose, and Amon. I tried to stop Browbeater again, but he only had ears for his mistress.
In a horrific kind of slow motion, I saw him press thick fingers into his own brow, tearing aside skin and jabbing the whip into his skull. The bone broke easily, and before I could blink, his glistening white heart was there in his palm. He held it out to her like a priceless gift, a triumphant look of jubilation on what remained of his face.
“Thank you, my precious one,” she said, cupping her hands around the shiny organ. “With the breath of my nostrils he is consumed.” I scrambled forward in a desperate attempt to stop her, but she quickly crushed the heart in her hands. It turned to smoke that swirled around her while the Minotaur disappeared in a cloud of dust.
The ground beneath us began to shake. I fell to my feet next to her, feeling as if I’d won the battle but lost the war.
Everything I loved had been destroyed. Asten and Amon lay on the ground and Ahmose stood frozen in place. The Devourer turned her head and smiled. “Until we meet again, Wasret.”
The netherworld quaked, the arena walls tumbling down, and the woman who’d taken everything from me disappeared.
The dust settled and I knelt in place as if frozen. Minutes passed, or perhaps it was mere seconds. Either way, I wasn’t aware of anything until I felt a hand touch my shoulder.
“Lily?”
I didn’t respond. Then Ahmose was in front of me, crouched down. I saw him snapping his fingers but couldn’t even feel it when he slapped my face.
He tried a different tack. “Tia?”
I wanted to answer him but I couldn’t. I was trapped inside my own skin.
“Ashleigh?” he said.
“Yes? I’m here,” I answered, my voice as if from a great distance. It was